Trusting Readers

by Linda Thorne

On my scheduled post in April, I wrote about letting go of my second book, admitting semi-giving up, but with one catch. On occasion, I can't resist tinkering with it. I don’t know what will happen long-term, but I needed to shake that burden of guilt that goes with leaving a loosely completed manuscript sitting in draft form. 

To complete my debut novel, Just Another Termination, I practically lived at critique groups and every time I got stuck in my writing, I left one of those meetings knowing what I needed to do. With my full-time job and husband’s health, I’m no longer willing to spend my off-time at critique groups away from home. This has taken its toll on my writing.

Last weekend I was paging through my current manuscript, A Promotion to Die For, and began moving segments of plot from one section of the book to another, making changes. I was rewording some of these sections when I noticed something a critique member would  likely have caught if I'd taken these pages to be critiqued. I’d been giving readers more information than they needed, writing down to them as if they were not as savvy as me at catching the storyline. I took out some details that could be brought up later, if they ever needed to be explained at all, and the scenes read so much better.

Readers need to enjoy the story, love the characters, and get it. I believe this occurred in my first book; that is, if those who read it were honest with me. I’ve enjoyed books where I have room to guess and make my own assumptions. In many cases, I'll find out later whether my guess or assumption was incorrect when the writer explains what she previously left unsaid. Sometimes I finish a book without some parts being clarified, holding onto my original presumptions. Does it really matter if what I thought differs from what the writer had meant? Often not since the reader will view a scene, situation, or character differently from how other readers do, including the writer.

I’m sometimes thrown off by an unknown word, term, gesture, or activity obviously familiar to the author, but not to me. I prefer the challenge of figuring it out or, at least, getting the gist myself for what’s happening rather than to be fed a detailed account.

I enjoyed that moment last weekend, looking over my neglected manuscript and, at the same time, discovering a problem that gave me a topic for this Make Mine Mystery post.

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Book Reviews

 by Linda Thorne

About five years ago I wrote a version of this post for a blogspot now inactive. Being late for my post today, I thought I’d bring this topic to Make Mine Mystery.

Ah, reviews. Authors yearn for the good ones, will take the reasonable ones, and hopefully learn from those negative, but none want those posted by meanies with nasty unnecessary attacks. 

For the most part an author will welcome almost any type of review: the ever steady one with an accurate ending and a trustworthy opinion, but even a shallow review of three words: “I enjoyed this book,” brings a smile to my face. And I love to see the total numbers of the review count go up.

It's my understanding that Amazon will do a little more promotion for an author with twenty reviews, then maybe more at fifty. I’m not sure if this is accurate, but I have heard it several times.

Some people who read my book, volunteer to put up a review without my asking, but then never do. Maybe if I showed my true emotions when they first mentioned it—chanted cheers and did somersaults—they may have followed through. This happens more often than not.

I asked my publisher to add a blurb at the back of my book asking for consideration of a review. I’ve seen it in other books. I’m not sure it helps, but I don’t think a reminder can hurt.

In the January 2017 issue of Writer's Digest. Barbara Solomon Josselsohn wrote in the “5-Minute Memoir” section a short article on book reviews. She titled it “The Review Rat Race" and said, "...many authors will attest, customer reviews have become the holy grail of novel publishing." She also confessed wishing she could simply appreciate a compliment about her books without the drama of the sought-after book review jumping to the forefront.  

What about you? Do you go after reviews or just hope that they come? Do you have other resources that help you bring them in or are you relying

solely on those folks who read your books?

Buy Link: Just Another Termination

Author Website: Linda Thorne Website

Letting Go

by Linda Thorne

I have a confession to make. I’ve let go of my second book. All 350 double-spaced pages with plot point I, plot point II, and a beginning, middle, and end. It remains ensconced within the depths of my computer, out of shape, uneven, and lumpy. When I try to push one lump down to balance the book, another protuberance appears somewhere else. I have changed the main subplot twice. Each change took over a year. Then I realized my subplots were taking over, minimizing the main mystery plot.

I was so obsessed getting my first book, Just Another Termination, published that when I had problems, I’d spend an incredible amount of time studying self-help books. I’d faithfully attend a weekly two-hour critique group. After driving into downtown Nashville, I’d wait my turn to have five pages of that book critiqued. Meanwhile I had a full-time job and a husband at home with health issues.

But I’ve changed. As I move closer to my 75th year I am slowing down, and other things take precedence. I used to write posts about balancing writing time with my day job. Now, I don’t bother. In hindsight they sounded a little whiny. My current day job is more than enough for me. My free time is saved to spend with my husband, enjoy the outdoors, read books, and watch movies. When I’m not working, I want to relax. I can’t imagine driving across town now for a two-hour critique group with only the hope of improving a few sentences.

Yeah, I know it is good for a second book in a series to come out within a reasonable timeframe from the first. That didn’t happen for me, so I’m not going to beat myself up for it anymore.

   

I still peck at my second book, A Promotion to Die For. This usually happens after reading a story or watching TV and something catches my eye that triggers an idea to solve a problem within my manuscript. Occasionally I’ll get lost in working on it for an hour or so.

These days there is so much of life I don’t want to miss out on. Spending my down time with the hubby is high priority. I’m overdue for retirement, so hopefully that will happen in 2022 and I may be able to dive back into A Promotion to Die For. Only time will tell how this plays out.

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Buy Link: Just Another Termination

Writing, Pandemic, Loss of Logic and Normalcy

by Linda Thorne

Author of forty-five or more books, Marilyn Meredith recently posted on the Make Mine Mystery Blogspot the topic, How has Covid 19 Affected Your Writing? She responded to a comment I made that she doesn’t let it bother her much since she can’t do anything about it. A wise way to handle the situation, but not something that works for me. I am drained by all of it.

Are we ever going to see normalcy again? Are you feeling stressed, desperate, frustrated,
mad, or plain worn out? I suddenly recalled a forty-year-old movie, Private Benjamin, and Goldy Hawn popped clearly into my mind in army clothes and helmet, marching in the rain, airing her frustrations loudly. “I want to go out to lunch! I want to be normal again!” I thought to myself, I get it Goldy, I really get it.

The last time I went out to dinner was on my husband’s birthday, Friday the 13th of March. We stopped by Great Clips afterward to get haircuts. So many months have passed since then.

Things closed soon after that, but the partial reopening has not gone well. I started cutting my husband’s hair even though the hair salons and barbershops had reopened here in Nashville, Tennessee. I hazarded hair appointments with my regular beautician. Twice. But as I was leaving the last time, I saw that the hairdresser next to her didn’t wear a mask, so I never went back. What I learned is the other beautician had a doctor’s excuse for not wearing a mask, so I have been cutting my own hair since with the help of my husband.

Where’s the logic in an employer allowing someone to work directly with the public without a mask when there’s a mask mandate? A mask is to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The doctor’s excuse is meaningless in a sane world. Yeah, maybe she couldn’t find a mask that allows her to breath or doesn’t irritate her skin (even though they are out there), but she still needs to stay home, doctor’s excuse or not.

The Pandemic has been bad enough, but during the skyrocketing increase in the number of cases, we had a Presidential election. Historic during a Pandemic, but the election is being drawn out, adding more stress.

Look at the rallies for Biden and protests against Trump not winning. The CDC is against any large gatherings, but it seems too many people feel like it has to be okay when there’s a cause they believe in. Whatever their cause, these things have no logic concerning wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Where’s our logic and common sense? And by the way, what about social distancing?

Then there are those who must show they have their rights not to wear a mask. Why? Why not help our economy and others’ safety?

At least we have one huge positive on the horizon. We are obviously going to get a vaccine.

Happy writing even during the Pandemic. If you can make it work for you, congratulations and keep going.

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Killer Nashville, The Pandemic, and Me

The Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference, held annually in late August, recently cancelled under the ominous cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic. Did this surprise me? No, but my personal reaction and mixed emotions to this cancellation did.

In mid-March my employer sent me and many of my co-workers out of our offices and to our homes to conduct business. All this time, companies have been closing and people losing jobs, the stock market a miss-mess of confusion, my 401(k) drooping, and I continue to work from home. Yet, it was only when I recently heard that the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference was cancelled that the pandemic felt truly real and hit home for me.

I’ve attended the Killer Nashville Writers’ conference every year since 2009. This year I held off paying the registration fee after watching what was happening in China. When we were told we were in a pandemic in March, I decided not to attend this year’s conference. Still, Killer Nashville went on preparing for the event, scheduling the panels and the presentations. They continued to work to make it happen right into this month.

Even though this was not a surprise, it still blew me away. Clay Stafford, the founder, stated online: “Thanks to all of you for a wonderful 15 years. I’m sorry, very sorry, we couldn’t pull it off.”

I’m sure many of you are aware of other author/writer conferences that have had to do the same thing. For some reason this felt personal to me.

Addendum:

A picture of the last time my husband and I went out to dinner on his birthday March 13th. Mexican food and Margaritas. Afterwards we went to Great Clips and got hair cuts. We’ve pretty much stayed home since. Bummer.

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by Linda Thorne


Wordiness that clogs up your communications is often caused when you use filter words, something I confess comes naturally to me. I may be worse than others because someone has called me on it my entire life. Not just high school and college English or literature teachers, editors, and critique group members, but friends and family.

Let me give you some examples of common filter words. Notice our five basic senses are among them, below, in bold and underlined.

Assume,  Believe, Can (or Able to), Feel, Decide, Hear, Know, Notice, Realize (or Note), See, Seem, Sense, Smell, Taste, Touch, Wonder

Filter words separate and distance the reader from the action. They add an extra layer that the reader must wade through while, in the process, being robbed of the story's urgency. Normally, the reader is forced to follow the story only through the character’s perspective. 

This is something I work hard to minimize, but the minute I let my guard down--that moment I relax wanting to talk or write effortlessly--filter words flow from the communication. Somehow, this habit became ingrained into my being early in life. You may not fight it as much as I do, but most people will muddy a story or communication with filter words at least on occasion.  

Compare the examples below with filter words and without.

• F: Joannie looked like she was going to pass out. When I heard her moan, I felt the need to hurry over to catch her.
• NF: Joannie’s face turned white and her legs wavered beneath her. When she moaned, I hurried over to catch her.

• F: I felt pure panic when I realized I had left my wallet on the store counter across the street. I decided to whip around to face the traffic. I heard car horns and vehicles whooshing past, but I knew I had to hurry back. When I saw the first break in the traffic, I ran.  
• NF: Pure panic hit me. My wallet – I had left it on the store counter across the street. I whipped around to face the traffic. Car horns honked and vehicles whooshed past. With the first break in traffic, I ran.

See the difference?




Like any rules in writing, there will be times you’ll need to use these words. When they’re unnecessary or overused, the simple fact is they’ll slow your story down.

I enjoyed reading up on this topic, something I need to refresh myself on often, and then sharing it with all of you.

This was a nice break from these stressful times. Stay safe.

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Christmas Again Already????

by Linda Thorne

Why does it seem Christmas gets here quicker every single year? There were a whole lot of years when my step children were children. Those were the greatest Christmases of all and I remember them well. We lived in Denver then, so those were often white Christmases. The last white Christmas we had in Nashville was in 2010. Our children are grown with children of their own and all live in different states. This year it will be just me and my husband. Our two dogs (featured in the picture), brother and sister border collies didn't make it to Christmas 2018. We miss them so, and keep them in our memories of Christmases past or what writers call backstory.

Speaking of that, my second book in the series is close to completion, but not yet ready to turn over to my publisher. Right now my biggest struggle is backstory. The main plot is built around a 30-year-old cold case with my lead character, at the age of 20, being the intended victim. Someone else was murdered in her stead. I love the story line, but weaving in an inciting incident that happened 30 years earlier is not only difficult, but a science. A friend of mine read much of the book and gave me suggestions and then warned me to tread carefully in finding the right places to drop in the backstory. I'm so thankful she's willing to look at it again once I've struggled through this process.

Does anyone else find Christmas is here before you know it? Anyone want to talk about the problems with backstory?

Either way, hope each and every one of you have a wonderful, happy holiday event.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Fun Time at Killer Nashville's 2019 International Writers' Conference

by Linda Thorne

What a fun time I had last month at Killer Nashville's Writers' Conference. This year the guests were Alexandra Ivy, David Morrell, and Joyce Carol Oates. 

The first authors' panel I participated in covered one of my favorite subjects: How To Master Setting held Friday 8-24. 

From left to right: Debra Gaskill, Randy Overbeck, me, John Carenen, Baron Birtcher, and lead panelist, Jim Nesbitt.

Baron Birtcher (above with long hair) won three Silver Falchion awards this year for Book of the Year, Best Action Adventure, and Best Attending Author. John Carenen, who sat beside me, tied with Joseph Simurdiak for the KN Claymore Award.

Saturday, I had two author panels. Curl of by the Fire: Writing the Cozy: 

From left to right: Debra Goldstein, me, J.C. Kenney, lead panelist Maggie Toussaint, Phyllis Gobbell, and Alexia Gordan. 

Two of these panelist won Silver Falchion Awards. Phyllis Gobbell won for Best Cozy (subject of our panel), and Maggie Toussaint for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror.

Saralyn Richard, who shares the same publisher I have, Black Opal Books, won the Killer Nashville Reader's Choice Award.   

I was the lead for my final author panel Saturday on a favorite topic, Writing Without an Outline. Below are the other panel members.

Amy Rivers & Rich Zahradnik                                                                                            R.G. (Dick) Belsky

                           

PD Halt                                                                                                                   Kerry Peresta

Great conference. Lots to do and learn, and a great deal of fun year after year.



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Happy Writing to You - by Linda Thorne

There are all sorts of publicized studies concerning the unhealthy effect unhappiness and loneliness can have on people. Not just mentally and emotionally, but physically as well. I found the statistics for the frequency of damage to our health and the seriousness of that damage to be shockingly high. I’m not providing quotes or details because, if I did, I’d need to cite my sources and I want to keep this post short and light. Anyone who’s interested can find the same information I did online. It’s generally well known.

So, I’m curious. Does writing help you out of a funk? Does it make you happy? When you feel a little lonely, does that feeling go away when you write? I found a great deal of information that supports the idea writing makes people happy.

When I am writing on my work in progress, I see it as a mission. It takes my attention away from unhappy thoughts, worries, and sadness. I’m absorbed, I’m expressing myself, and I feel a sense of accomplishment even when I’m writing poorly in rough draft format.

I’m not saying I don’t sometimes get frustrated. There are times when I can’t get the words out to reflect what’s needed, but when this happens, I learned a long time ago to just walk away from it. I either figure it out and get over the hurdle or back off. It may be for a day, a week, or longer. This doesn’t mean I’ve given up. Far from it. I’ll keep all that's frustrating me in my mind when I’m walking, driving, sitting around. I’ll mull over what got in my way and search for solutions, alternatives. It’s amazing what I can resolve when I take a break from writing the problem areas and just let my mind continue to play with it for a period.    

I don’t think I’ve ever felt lonely when I’ve been writing. I’m too in tune with my characters. I’ve worried for them, been excited for them, and always bonded with even the minor characters and bad guys. I’ve had the feelings of a romantic crush on a few of my male characters and some of my other characters have infuriated me. When writing, you call on your past experiences to produce the material for your present and future in your story. Loneliness would not fare well in this mixture of writing about activities and involvement in the past, present, and future.

Between the characters you’ve created and their activities, you should have a strong sense of connection, caring consideration, and inspiration. All strengtheners to our immune systems.

For me personally, I’ve found writing makes me feel younger, keeps me active and mentally on the move. It perks me up and gives me purpose and a sense of pride.
                                                                                      My 1st author panel 2015 Southern Fest of Bks
 
So, I’m obviously one of the statistics of the many people writing makes happy. How about you?

How does writing make you feel?
                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                   

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The Red Herring of the Mystery Genre

 by Linda Thorne

One of the critical but perhaps the most entertaining part of any mystery is the continual misdirection of the reader. That ploy ensures a satisfying surprise at the end. To prevent premature exposure to who done it, writers often use a literary tool called a red herring, which leads the reader astray in two ways. One way presents false, distorted, or ambiguous information. The other distracts from the subject at hand either by changing to a new topic or allowing a new event to disrupt the current scene.

After teasing readers with clues of the mystery's true ending, a skilled writer often throws in a red herring to pull his audience away temporarily. This planned postponement adds deeper layers to the the plot and weaves in more doubts about previous suspects. However, the writer intends to reintroduce the same subject matter during the climax. At that point, the reader will likely remember many, if not all earlier hints, clues, diversions, and distractions, which can help him say, “Of course, I should’ve known that!”

Admittedly, in my first book I had almost too many red herrings and too many innocent characters for the reader to suspect. I started to remove one of the planted questionable characters, but decided in the end to keep them all because I did have logical reasons to to explain their innocence that would eliminate each as a suspect. Yet in revising my second book, A Promotion to Die For, I have found a shortage of innocent characters that look guilty. I have also found too few diversions and distractions. So, with book one, the red herrings came easily, but book two will take some work.

I’ve always wondered why this literary technique of trickery appropriated the name of a fish, a herring no less. More research revealed a long history of red herrings being dragged over ground to create scent trails to train dogs, and possibly horses. Apparently, red herring, a very smelly fish when dead, proved useful for distracting ardent searchers. One theory going all the way back to the 1600s included fugitives using red herrings to cover their own scent, thus, throwing off bloodhounds that were chasing them.

The turning point that popularized the name as an extended metaphor came to fruition in the early 1800s. An English journalist named William Cobbett wrote a story that told how he, as a boy, had used a red herring to mislead hounds that were following a rabbit. Though a fictional story, Cobbett used it to criticize what he believed was a naive press that fell for false information about a defeat of Napoleon. Supposedly, Corbett’s criticism caused the repeated republishing of versions of this tale for many years.

I think as writers, we may all appreciate how red herrings serve in the mystery genre. But, if you didn’t know the back story on how this term evolved, you now know as much as I do. 

 

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Schedule C - An Author's Friend When Filing Taxes

by Linda Thorne

It’s that time of year again. I rushed to complete our tax forms and sent them off to the IRS in hopes of side-stepping another potential government shutdown. I feel good the IRS has them in hand.

The Schedule C form can be a good friend to any author. It’s my understanding that your book does not need to be published in order to claim deductions for your business-focused website and domain expenses, and maybe others. I did not feel comfortable using this deduction though until I had a publishing contract. Since it took ten long years to publish my book, I have a feeling the IRS would’ve frowned upon a decade of author expenses without a publication. With the contract in hand, I filed my first Schedule C for writing just prior to my book debut. Even if you are not making a profit on your writing, filing these expenses is a profit in its own way because of the tax savings.                   

Schedule C isn’t that complicated either. You can also claim the portion of your home that you use to write your books and keep your inventory. Of course, if your writing expenses outweigh your income, then the tax formula will always result in a zero deduction. Still, I think it’s good to set up that home space early for the IRS to see in preparation of the day you make enough on your writing to collect on the home deduction too. You can write off dues to professional organizations, gas mileage to author events, author-related conferences. You can include a portion for food and drink when you’ve traveled out of your area and stayed in a hotel.

Since I’m talking about tax preparation, I need to add a caveat. I’m not a tax professional or expert, so my purpose here is only to alert writers, especially new ones, that this is something available to you.

So, I’ve offered a little information from my tax experiences as a writer. If any of you have some experiences or advice to share, please do.

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Should Authors Give Their Books Away?

 by Linda Thorne

When I first starting writing, I heard the old adage over and over, "Don't give your work away." But ever so often I'd hear someone say, "Do whatever it takes!"

The naysayers warn us that the competition is enormous, the odds are stacked against us, and the chance of making money slim. Listening to them is fine so long as we take the words as a challenge and not as a reason to give up.



I attended my first full-blown writers’conference in 2009 and every time I went to a different session, I'd pass by an unmanned table with piles of Alan Bradley's debut novel along with a tall sign sticking up from the midst of that pile that read, “Help Yourself to a Free Book.” Each day as I walked by the table, I'd wonder why the author was giving his books away. After putting in all the work it takes to write and edit a book, why would he just hand it off? Would that cheapen his product?


Before I left though, I couldn't resist taking one of the free copies of Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I could afford to buy it, but I doubt I would have since his lead character was an eleven-year-old and my preference was adult protagonists. Since it was free, I could try it out at no cost. I didn’t get to reading it until more than a year or so later and looked online to see Alan Bradley already had another book out in his series. If you look at the series now, it's exploded into more than eleven books and he's published others outside of the series. Alan Bradley gave away a huge number of books and on many different occasions; yet, he's a success story.

Goodreads has always offered a service for authors to give their books away. It's promotion because hundreds of people ask to win your book. They're looking at the book cover, the inside, the synopsis. You can offer the book to one winner or allow more than one. When Goodreads selects the winner or winners, you send your book to a reader. If your book is part of a series, you have the opportunity of hooking that reader into your series. Recently, I went online and found that what Goodreads used to give away for free, now cost authors $119.00. I think Goodreads saw this as a promotional opportunity worthy of a charge, gave the program some pizazz and marketing perks, and now authors are paying to give their books away.

                             One of the most well-known writers and readers

conference, Bouchercon, offers a book bizarre at each annual conference. Authors can give away their books at the bizarre, so long as they provide at least fifty copies. This is a lot of free books and at the authors' expense. New authors, mid-list authors, and famous authors all participate. If conference attendees don't choose your book as one of the six they're allotted free their first day, they have a second chance a day or two later to buy it for a dollar. If you still have an inventory of books left at the end of the conference, they are donated to libraries around the city where Bouchercon is held that year.

My read on the old adage of don't give your books away, is don't give them to friends and relatives as they are the most likely to buy them. When it comes to others, find a balance, but getting your books out to certain markets, even as freebies, might bring returns of double-fold or more over the long-run. I revisit that interesting experience I had almost ten years ago when I picked up a free book written by Alan Bradley well before he became famous. 

Should authors give their books away? What do you think?

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Christmas in a Few Days? No Way! Thought We Just Celebrated the Holidays

by Linda Thorne

Yeah, right, we did celebrate the holidays, but I need to look at a calendar to remind myself it’s been a full year.

Does it seem like Christmas comes sooner each year? As a child, I remember feeling like it took forever for Christmas time. As an adult, the holidays started coming sooner; now they seem to arrive every time I turn around.

The older I get the more time flies. Why?

I’ve heard that the more time and experience behind us, the faster new time will pass. If you browse the internet, you’ll come up with all sorts of explanations, but they seem to come down to one basic truth.

Our brain ciphers new experiences into memory, but not so much the familiar ones, so the repetitive events and experiences zoom by. As an example, I have lived in the same home for over ten years and every Tuesday night I've put out the garbage for pick up the next morning. This has become so routine, it’s like I’m not even alive when I do it, and “garbage night” seems to be here the next day rather than the full week it takes in actual time.

Now, if there’s a new experience connected with “garbage night,” then it seems to lodge itself in my past for a more realistic time frame. Like the time I got skunked while taking out the garbage. Time slowed and the period between that Tuesday evening and the next felt like the full calendar week it is rather than the day or two it seems like. The same thing happened when I dropped my house and car keys into the trashcan along with the garbage, only realizing what I'd done after garbage pick-up the next morning. 

The older we get, the more routine life becomes with less unfamiliar moments. Even our thoughts, daydreams, feelings of sadness and happiness, are experiences we’ve already been through.

When I started writing my debut novel, I thought I’d be done in a year or two. It was not completely polished until eight years later, and then not published until after ten, yet the whole process seemed like such a short period of my life.  

So, here we are again with Christmas in a matter of days, which feels to me like hours, and then New Years and then all of 2019.

So, my wish for all of you is a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We'll never again be as young as we are now, so let's make the most of every minute we have, be happy, and for heaven sake enjoy these holidays because they'll be here again before we know it.



What about you? Do you ever feel you’re chasing after time? Do you have big plans for 2019?

Writing a Non-Historical Mystery Set in the Past

by Linda Thorne

     My current work in progress, A Promotion to Die For, is a mystery set in 2005. You’d hardly call that a historical mystery. I’ve seen the word vintage used for time frames 20 to 50 years ago, but my novel is only 13 years in the past. So, for now, I’ll tag my WIP as contemporary with a touch of things old-fashion.

     Thirteen years ago, Blockbuster stores were everywhere, but not today. Flat Screen TVs were available, but not widespread like now. Big Screen TVs were the norm in 2005. Cell phones were little fold-up phones, nothing like the Smartphones of today. I don’t think FaceTime had made an appearance and social media had not taken off (or over) like it has today.

     When writing in the past, even if not the historic past, it’s always important to write time-period appropriate. The clothes your character wears, the TV she watches, the political and social world of the time she lives in must be real. 

     So I am writing my second book set in 2005 while marketing my debut novel in a 2018 world heavy with social media, stumbling through blogs and forums, and wondering if I should also join Instagram and what is this Pinterest?

    My lead character in my Judy Kenagy mystery series, complains in A Promotion to Die For about all the new technology, oblivious to what the future holds for her. I wonder how she would’ve fared in current time. See the excerpt below from chapter one:

I stayed ensconced in my swivel chair, hammering away on my computer until disrupted by a buzz from my beeper. My husband’s phone number lit up on the tiny screen and I reached for the desk phone but stopped when a ringing tune shrilled from my purse on the floor. I pushed the chair back, bent down and fumbled for the jingling little phone, grabbed hold and yanked it from my purse—too hard. I lost my grip and watched it sail over my head landing with a thud on the thin carpet. I dropped on all fours and crawled under the desk.

Damn! When did it happen that people could find you anywhere at any time? Cell phones, beepers, e-mails. I was pushing fifty and couldn’t react as fast as I used to. I snatched the phone off the floor and opened it. “Dan. What?”

“What took you so long?”

“I dropped the…Oouch!”

“Judy, where are you?”

“I’m under my desk where the phone fell, and I hit my head. Give me a second.”

On my knees, phone in hand, I pushed the chair away from the desk and used the seat as a prop to get to my feet. “You beeped me and then called. I’m not a juggler.”

“Sorry,” he said.

“Just me, still adjusting to all this new technology.”

      Have any of you written novels set in the past where you were forced to change the world of your character to match the time frame? Or have you read books where you noticed the author making the adjustment? It’s critical to get it correct or you’ll lose your reader early on to lack of credibility.

     I’ve had fun with this part of writing my work-in-progress. 

http://www.lindathorne.com

http://mybook.to/Just_Another_Termination

Panels - The Fun Side of Being an Author

Writing can be hard work, author promotion laborious and grueling, and as far as making money, well, that seems to be the biggest challenge for most of us. Do we give up? No. We enjoy writing and much that goes with being an author is just pure fun. Author panels are one of the more uplifting things we participate in.

Four weeks ago, I was at the Killer Nashville International Writers Conference, sitting on a panel. Two days later, still at the conference, I was sitting on a second panel.

Writing Effective Subplots Friday 8-24           Differences in Men & Women Sleuths Sunday 8-26   
                                                                                                 

Caroline Fardig, me, Jaden Terrell, Dick Belsky, Lynne Hesse, Michael Norman, Steven Cooper                                                                                                                                                                                                        Chris Greyson, me, Rebecca Butler

  
I could go on and on for hours talking about the Killer Nashville Conference with all their panels, writers’ sessions, workshops, and more.

For years before I was published, I went to every author event I could make hoping to learn how to become an author. How I envied the authors who spoke at sessions or with a group. I usually joined in when it was time for audience participation, something I did in preparation for the day when I too would be a speaker or panelist.

The first official panel I participated in was at the Southern Festival of Books in mid-October 2015 here in Nashville, Tennessee. The panel was called: “Who Can You Trust – Three Mysteries.” The other authors with me were Phyllis Gobbell and Elise Blackwell. Our moderator did a great job injecting some “umph” into this presentation. As you can see I was in my glory.

The Killer Nashville conference, always held in August, was moved temporarily to late-October in 2015 and I took part in their panel called "Debut Authors".
   
In 2016, The Southern Festival of books invited me to be part of a panel of authors for a second year. I joined Kelly Oliver and Jaden (Beth) Terrell to talk on "On the Case: Private Eye Series." To get on another such group with this Festival will not happen again until I publish a new book.

But I'm still invited to other panels even without a new publication. I appeared on a non- traditional rotating panel at Bouchercon 2016 in New Orleans, I've been on ones at bookstores, and, of course, Killer Nashville year after year.
    
Author panels are handled pretty much the same where ever you find them. They primarily provide new or midlist authors an opportunity to reach a small group of book-buyers, but best-selling authors appear on them too. I’ve been on panels with bestsellers. I’ve also gone to panels where the “big-huge-names” in the writing world participated.

If you’re going to be part of a panel of authors, my advice is never worry about what to say. If you’ve written a book, you’ll know it inside out and backwards. There’s no way to be blindsided by a question. Most of your answers will come out naturally with enthusiasm because you are talking about your work of love. If you wind up on a panel with a talker, don’t worry about how to handle it. I’ve had it happen and the moderator is usually an expert on cutting that talk short. If not, I’ve butted in myself. It’s easy to interrupt and make a couple of comments to pull the talker back into the rhythm of the group.

Do any of you want to share your experience(s) on a panel or experience(s) watching an author panel?

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